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Friday, June 21, 2013

It Only Takes One “Yes!” guest post by: Melynda Price

Today we have a guest post from author Melynda Price, author of: Until Darkness Comes

Thank you for sharing with us Melynda.

It Only Takes One “Yes!” (A word of encouragement for new and aspiring authors)

I’ve been doing
several interviews lately, and would like to take the time today to talk a
little about my journey from unpublished to published author. Everyone has
their own story to tell, and I love hearing about other author’s success. But even more, I also want to hear about
their failures. No, I’m not sadistic, but I believe there’s a lot to be learned
in these failures.

Patience,
perseverance, and gratitude are few qualities that have grown in me through
rejection. So, at today’s Blog stop, I want to pay special attention to the
unpublished authors and those who are struggling in their career.

I’d like to share
something I’ve learned through my journey. Five simple words, yet so profound,
they kept me going when I was tempted to give up. “It only takes one ‘Yes.’”
This little bit of advice and
encouragement was given to me by my good friend, author Laura Breck, and will
stay with me forever. It only takes one “yes” for your dreams to come true, so
try to take each “no” as a learning opportunity, and growing experience.

It took me a year to
sell my first book, Until Darkness Comes, and often the rejection to contract
my MS was based only on the query letter alone. When you have a project you’ve
loved, nurtured and cherished, it’s hard not to take that rejection personally,
but you can’t. A query isn’t your novel, and if it’s rejected, they’re not
rejecting you or your work per say, but the query itself.

I rewrote my query
letter numerous times, and by far, I found it more difficult than writing the
book, itself. I knew I’d finally gotten it right when I started getting
requests to submit my manuscript. At the time I signed Until Darkness Comes
with 5Prince Publishing, I’d gotten two offers to contract this book.

After a year of
submitting, getting rejected, tweaking my query letter, and re-submitting, it
all started coming together. I’ve talked to other authors who have said it took
them as long as five years to get their first book contracted. So if you’re in
the rejection stages, my advice to you is take heart, learn from your mistakes
and try, try again. Your day will come. J

Olivia Norton was born with a gift—a gift
heaven has sworn to protect, and hell is bound to destroy. Her perfect world is
turned upside-down when two handsome strangers, Max and Liam, step into her
life. Olivia soon discovers that her ‘Mr. Perfect’ is actually a perfect
nightmare.

The rules of engagement have changed and
Liam, Olivia’s guardian angel, is forced to cross dimensional borders or risk
losing the woman he’s sworn to protect. Suddenly, thrust into a world unlike
anything he’s ever known, Liam isn’t prepared to come face to face with the
young woman whose life he holds in his hands.

But nothing is as it seems, and secrets
abound that will ultimately force him to choose between two impossibilities.
Max will stop at nothing to finish what he’s started, and Olivia is soon
plunged into a battle between good and evil. Her very life hangs in the balance
as two forces fight to win her heart.

Excerpt:

Olivia took a brave step closer to Liam and
cupped the side of his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “Then who are you?
Surely you can tell me that. And don’t you dare lie to me, because I know
you’re not normal. I’ve never met anyone like you before. Normal guys don’t act
like you. Normal guys don’t look like you, and if they do, they’re usually more
like…”

“More like what?” His eyebrow arched
curiously.

“More like Max, I guess.”

“Well, I can promise you that I am nothing
like Max. More like the exact opposite, to tell you the truth.”

“Why do you hate him so much? At first, I
thought it was because he was my boyfriend, and that you were just jealous or
something. But it’s more than that, isn't it?”

“There’s a darkness in him, Olivia. Can’t
you feel it?”

“I’m not sure how I feel when I’m with Max
anymore. I used to feel…carefree—wild and reckless, you know? But lately, I’m
starting to just feel…afraid. Like I’m walking on a tightrope and I’m about
ready to fall.”

“I’ll catch you,” he whispered, slowly
trailing his fingers down the side of her neck.

Her pulse beat erratically beneath his
touch; she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. Instead, she
moistened her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. His heated gaze fell to
her lips and she felt Liam’s resolve snap. A wave of desire blasted into her
and a soft groan of defeat rumbled in his chest as he lowered his head,
capturing her lips in a tender embrace. His kiss tore through her like fire.
What started out as tentative and sweet, quickly escalated to urgent and
demanding as a rush of adrenaline flooded her veins. She melted into his arms,
her lips fitting perfectly against his, like she was made just for him.

He tasted exactly like he smelled—faintly
of cloves, delicious. She parted her lips, aching for more and instinctively he
responded to her request as if she’d spoken it. Drawing the kiss deeper, his
tongue brushed against hers. The more he kissed her, the hungrier she became,
fueling an insatiable fire deep in her core.

Olivia wound her arms around his neck and
pulled him closer. She’d never felt more starved and yet completely satisfied
as she did at that very moment. He tightened his arms around her waist and
pulled her against him, as if he couldn't get close enough. Her feet left the
ground as he molded her to his lean, powerful body.

Time momentarily ceased. She had no idea
how long they stood there in each other’s arms as the floor of the boat rocked
beneath his feet. The captain’s voice crackled over the speaker, announcing the
end of their tour. A reluctant groan escaped Liam’s lips as he broke their kiss
and slowly released her. Olivia stumbled when her feet touched ground and his
hand shot out to steady her...

About
Melynda Price:

An avid lover of paranormal romance,
Melynda was inspired to write her own series after reading the Book of
Enoch. She’s always had a fascination with stories about angels, and the role
they’ve played in the history of our multi-dimensional world.

She attended Bethel University in Minnesota
and graduated in 2003, holding AA, ASN and BSN degrees.

She lives in Northern Minnesota where she
has plenty of snow-filled days to curl up in front of the fireplace with her
Chihuahua, and a hot cup of coffee, to write. She’s blessed with two amazing
children, and a wonderful husband of seventeen years.

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About Me

Ahmad Taylor

I am a 36 year old writer living in South Florida. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. and lived in NYC until I was 29. I was a cop briefly, and then gravitated toward security consulting, which lends to the law enforcement side of my writing.

I am a big fan of Science Fiction and Suspense stories which shaped the style and approach of my debut novel.I am a Christian, and while I do not write about my faith, it definitely affects how and what I write about.